Almost Certain
by antiwicked
Summary: Sequel to Nothing More, Nothing Less. She didn't deserve to live. What was there in her life that was worth preserving? Recovery was a huge step and it was one that she was not ready to take. Warning: AU Fiyeraba and Gloq
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! I have had this typed up for quite a while and I thought that it was time to share! This chapter is more of a prologue than it is a first chapter, but it is really informative. So enjoy and please review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Wicked or any of it's characters.**

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It was hard to understand; why she deserved to live. To her well-organized mind, there was nothing in her life worth preserving. She had told Fiyero this and he had seemed rather upset. "I love you," He had told her in reply. She nodded her head and went on her way, not bothering to see the confused look on his face, even though she knew it was there. Ever since "the incident", Elphaba had been solitary. Fiyero blamed himself for her change in demeanor, but it wasn't his fault, not really. How could he have stopped Etai from kidnapping her while she was sleeping? How could he have heard her muffled screams as Etai brought the rawhide whip down onto her back again and again? Like she said, it wasn't his fault. Fiyero said that it was his love and affection that had brought this doom upon her. She shook her head and shrugged his comment off. It wasn't because of him. His love had saved her, to be honest. As Etai snarled profanities at her, she had stayed strong for Fiyero. As Etai repeatedly scourged her, she had stayed strong for her love.

But Elphaba was healing quickly. The faint throbbing in her back and the scars that covered her body were the only reminders of what had happened. There was one particular scar that ran from beneath her right breast, over her shoulder, and finished at her left hip. That one scar was what pained her the most. Etai had dragged the whip across her body, taking a layer of smooth green skin with it. Shuddering, Elphaba banished the horrifying thought from her mind. There was no use in dwelling on such agony.

She knocked on the furnished down and adjusted the tea tray in her hands. "Madam, will you be receiving tea this morning?" The woman called, waiting for a reply.

"Elphie, why do you even ask anymore?" A high-pitched voice penetrated the door and Elphaba allowed herself to chuckle a bit. Turning the tray so that she could hold it with one hand, she opened the door to greet her mistress.

Glinda was sitting up in bed, running a pale hand through her golden locks. It had been almost a year and a half since the incident, but the blonde looked the same. Behind her, Boq was groggily rising from bed, looking around for his discarded shirt.

"Was I interrupting something?" Elphaba questioned, pouring tea for the two. Ever since Boq and Glinda had been married, Elphaba was forced to hold back her feelings of hate. She didn't exactly like him now, but she held back her snide comments for the sake of her best friend.

"Of course not. You're right on time, as always," Glinda remarked, causing the two of them to laugh.

"Am I missing something?" Boq switched his gaze between the two women in confusion.

"Elphaba is never on time, dear." Glinda patted his hand gently and spoke like she was explaining it to a young child.

"I resent that," Elphaba snapped at her, smiling. It felt good to smile. It felt good to let go of some of her pain for a little while. There were a few moments of clouded silence before Glinda spoke up.

"Momsie is at the Assembly, Elphie. They're trying to bargain for your release." There was a keyword here: trying. They had been trying for so long to get Elphaba out of slavery. Normally, the court would just order Elphaba to pay a certain fee (which the Uplands would pay, of course) and then she would be released. But that was for slaves who were bought into work. Well, Elphaba technically _was _bought into slavery, but they couldn't tell the court that without revealing everything that had passed between Melena and Carole. So she was stuck.

"Let them try, Mrs. Upland. Nothing's going to happen," Elphaba addressed her as Upland for Boq's parents had died so long ago that no one really knew his last name.

"Something will happen eventually, Elphie. You know that." The green woman snorted and cleaned up the tray.

"Enjoy your morning, Mrs. Upland." Glinda hated that she was so formal towards her, but there wasn't much that she could do about such a thing.

Elphaba closed the door behind her, slumping against the wall. The doctor at the hospital did a terrible job of patching her wounds and "the knife" (which was the long scar that dragged around her back) would spontaneously burst into searing agony. She ran her hand into the back of her dress, trying to massage and dull the pain. A slight whimper escaped her lips for she promised herself that she wouldn't scream no matter how bad it hurt. That would just put her more into Etai's thrall, even though he was dead. Even though he could no longer hurt her, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that she was in pain.

The woman slowly rose to her feet, taking deep breaths as she attempted to calm herself. She picked up the tea tray and stumbled down the hallway. She was so focused on her pain that she didn't notice that there was someone coming her way. She collided head-on with Fiyero Tigelaar and he knocked her to the floor.

"Fae, honey, are you okay?" He cried, alarmed. The prince reached down to draw her to her feet and he took her in his arms.

"Yes, I'm fine," She answered, rubbing her temple and looking at him. Aging a year and a half had only made him more handsome. His body was more in shape, his hair seemed to be more shiny and full, and those blue diamonds seemed to be more lustrous. Elphaba still couldn't believe that he belonged to her.

"You're in pain, aren't you?" He questioned, seeing the affliction in the dark eyes that he loved.

Elphaba slowly nodded. She despised telling him things for he always overreacted. He would rush her to his room, make her rest, and go on a hunt for something that would rid her of pain. "You can't do anything about it, Yero. You can't erase what happened."

That was definitely the wrong thing to say and Fiyero's eyes clouded with unreadable emotion. He hated that she was so traumatized by the incident. He hated that he couldn't have saved her earlier. "Fae, you know that I'm doing everything to help you."

Elphaba nodded and broke away from him. "I know you are, Tigelaar." (He was pleased that she was feeling well enough to send a sarcastic comment towards him). "Everything is just so confusing right now. I'm still a servant and I feel like the pain is going to kill me before I get released. You're the only thing clear to me right now."

Fiyero smiled at her and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. "I love you so much, Elphaba. We are all trying our best." He informed her, linking their fingers intimately.

_If only they could try a little bit harder_, Elphaba thought.

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**So how did you like it? If you liked it, tell me in a review! Thank you so much! - Meghan**


	2. Chapter 2

**Wow. I haven't updated this in a while. Sorry about that. Anyway, here is another chapter. Enjoy and review! c:**

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It was terrible to handle. The sudden flashbacks, the searing agony in her back, the worried look on Fiyero's face when she finally opened her eyes. Elphaba tried to hide her pain; she tried to just clench her teeth and carry on, but it sure wasn't as easy as it sounded. The woman sat at the foot of the bed that she and Fiyero shared and clutched the railing, silently cursing Etai. She knew that it was terrible to feel this way, but she was glad that he was dead. It served him right, really. The man deserved it, after all the suffering that he put her through.

That was how Fiyero found her, laying at the foot of the bed. "Fae, you should get some rest." He stared down at her pointedly. Elphaba stared up at him, her vision blurry.

"I'd rather stay down here, thank you." Fiyero squatted next to her, taking her hand in his. Her skin was clammy and his worry for her spiked.

"I think you should get to the hospital, Elphaba. You're getting sick." He kissed her cheek tenderly and the woman drew herself from him. The prince gazed at her searchingly and she sighed quietly.

"Stop being Mr. Romantic, Tigelaar." A reluctant chuckle escaped his lips as her eyes fluttered closed. She was worrying him, yes, but what was there to do? Elphaba was having nothing to do with the hospital or having a doctor examine her. The green woman wearily stood, her bamboo-pole legs trembling with the effort. Fiyero made to help her and she waved him off. She didn't need – nor want- his help.

"How did all of this start?" Fiyero questioned her, cradling the bony girl in his diamond-crested arms.

"I felt fine, Yero. I felt fine before dinner." This one statement sent a shiver of anxiety down his spine. Was it possible that someone had slipped something into her cup before she drank? Or perhaps slipped some arsenic onto her plate? The whole idea of her being poisoned seemed ludicrous, but it was certainly plausible, and the fact frightened him. She had already been through enough pain without this. But Fiyero would find out what had happened if it was the last thing he'd do.

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A lone carriage rolled down the gravel road, shaking up the passengers inside. Glinda clutched to Boq's shirt, not quite pleased with the bumping of the wheels. Without warning, thunder roared and lightning ripped through the sky. The blonde screeched in fright, burying her face in her husband's shoulder. The sky began to turn a deep shade of grey and he sighed, knowing that she would be like this for the rest of the trip home. The munchkin held his wife tenderly, chuckling quietly at her agitated appearance. She was almost twenty and still scared of thunderstorms. What a lovely wife you got for yourself, Boq.

"When are we going to get there?" Glinda whimpered, her high voice muffled from her mouth's position in his shirt.

Boq rubbed her back in circles, trying to calm the frazzled woman down. "Any moment, love. In a few minutes, we'll be tucked into bed snug as a bug." He emphasized that last phrase and Glinda had to admit that his joking tone cheered her up a bit.

The two stayed in each other's arms, the fact that there was another carriage behind them unknown to them. The man behind them parted the curtains, an unidentified object lying in his outstretched hand. He threw it, an expression of unadultered glee crossing over his shadowed face when it landed on the roof of the Upland's carriage. Revenge would come soon enough.

Glinda reluctantly pulled her head off of her husband's chest. "Boq, do you smell something burning?" Her nose wrinkled in disgust. The man gazed at her searchingly and then opened up the curtains of the side window. There was smoke all around them and Boq laid his hand on the doorknob.

"Glin, I think we need to get out of here." He warned her, grabbing her hand and beginning to open the door. But he didn't get the chance. The gilded carriage exploded, the wooden frame bursting into calescent flames. Smoke blurred their visions and clogged their lungs as the fire licked at their legs and the hems of their clothing. Boq crawled from the explosion, unaware that his wife wasn't behind him. He looked back and coughed violently, his chest burning from the smog that he was inhaling. Despite his physical condition, his love for Glinda spurred him on and he crawled back into the death trap. The woman was desperately clawing at the wood, attempting to pull herself out of the smoldering fire. Boq threw Glinda's arm around his shoulders and lugged her away from the pile of burnt wood, not really noticing that she had lost consciousness.

Boq collapsed onto the grass, breathing heavily and trying his best to force air into his corrupted lungs. "Glin… Glin, are you alright?" He questioned weakly, wheezing as he rolled over. Glinda was lying on the grass, her eyes closed and her body motionless. He knew that she had to get medical attention at once, for her arms and neck was covered in deep burns. The man knew that he had no way of carrying her in his current state, so he began to scream as loud as possible.

"Someone help, please! I think she's dying!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Here is another chapter for you all! Just a side note, plaidmonster was creepily watching me as I wrote this... Anyway, enjoy and review!**

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Boq couldn't breathe, his lungs working overtime just to keep him breathing. He ran alongside the gurney, grasping Glinda's hand protectively. He wasn't going to leave her alone like this. She hadn't once opened her eyes on the way to the hospital and her chest wasn't moving all that much.

"I'm very sorry, Sir, but you're going to have to wait outside."

Boq barely registered the nurse's words and she had to grab his shoulder to keep him from following the surgeons through the double doors. He glared at her before taking a seat and coughing violently into his cupped hand.

"Sir, are you alright? As we understand, you were in explosion as well." The same nurse came and placed a gentle hand on his back when he bent forward. Boq didn't answer. He just kept his head in his hands, ignoring her kind words.

She helped him up and slung his arm over her shoulder as he coughed. The two stumbled through the double doors and into an empty room. The nurse helped him into a bed and handed him a cup of water from the sink.

"Your injuries don't look too severe. I don't believe that it's anything that we have to worry about." The nurse's words calmed him and he laid back against the pillow, almost spitting out his drink when he remembered.

"Glinda, my wife, she's-"

"She's fine, Master…" The woman checked the clipboard in her hand. "She's fine, Master Boq." As she said that, one of the doctors entered the room. Dr. Bennett glanced over Boq to check for any injuries and when he didn't find any, he gestured for him to get out of bed.

"Mrs. Upland's awake, if you'd like to see her." He informed him, chuckling quietly as the munchkin nearly flew out of bed in excitement. "Room 406." He added, calling at him.

Boq pushed open the door, the smile falling from his face at the sight. Glinda was even more pale than usual and her face and neck were covered in various bruises and burns. She caught his eye and then turned to face the opposite wall, ashamed of her appearance. He had fallen in love with the beautiful Glinda Upland, not the sick peasant-looking woman that she knew he saw.

Her behavior confused him and he sat on the edge of the bed, his hand on her thigh comfortingly. "What's wrong?" He questioned her, attempting to get her to at least look him in the face.

"Go 'way." She told him, her voice muffled by the pillow.

"Glinny, what's wrong?" By this point, Boq was terrified. Was she hurt more than he had seen or was she just angry with him for not rescuing her from the remains of the carriage? He didn't know, and frankly, he was too afraid to ask.

"Youdon'tlovemeanymore." Glinda's explanation was slurred and quick; Boq wasn't able to understand.

"For Oz's sake, Glinda, what is wrong?" He was getting fed up with her mumbling.

"You don't love me anymore!" She shouted at him, turning over to glare at him. "Did you hear me this time?"

Boq was stunned. Why in the world would she think that he didn't love her anymore? The idea was preposterous! "What do you mean?"

"You don't love me anymore because of my face. I-I have so many burns and I'm not p-pretty anymore!" Glinda burst into impromptu tears and whipped away from him.

Boq moved to sit next to her, cradling her head in his hands. "Glin, I would love you no matter what. You're still beautiful. The burns bring out your eyes." He joked, pleased when he saw a smile on her face.

"Oh, Boq, you're so silly! You know-" Glinda was cut off as the door slammed open.

"Boq, thank Oz that you're okay!"

A shrill voice rang throughout the room and a ditzy-looking blonde ran in, holding the bottoms of her exquisite dress so that she wouldn't trip over it.

"Oh my Oz, Kristina, what are you doing here?" Boq's voice was full of surprise and of anger. He had never wanted to see her face again, especially now.

"Who are you?" Glinda almost growled, glaring at him angrily.

"Who are you?" Kristina shot back, her voice just as cold.

"Kristina, this is my wife, Glinda. Glinda, this is Kristina. She's an old _friend _of mine." Boq explained, wanting Kristina to leave as much as the blonde did.

Kristina scoffed, very much offended. "A friend? We were certainly more than friends the other night." She smirked, crossing her arms over her chest smugly.

Glinda cerulean eyes were filled to the brim with tears that were threatening to spill over. "Oh, so you two are more than friends, huh? So this is how you repay me after all that I did just so that we could be together. You sleep with some random, ugly bitch." She emphasized that last word, more than angry. She was infuriated.

"Glinda, no, it wasn't like that!" Boq assured her, taking her hand sweetly.

"Don't you touch me!" She snapped at him, drawing her hand away quickly. Did he think that she would let him touch her after she found out about his affair?

"Boq, don't try to downgrade what we have. It was certainly like that. But I don't quite agree with your judgmental statement. I'm certainly not ugly. Well, at least not by Boq's standards. He seemed to love my body a lot." Kristina's last sentence made Glinda's breath catch in her throat. She had never known what it was like to have her heart broken. It felt like someone had ripped it out of her chest and was stomping on it.

"Get out."

Glinda's voice was pure ice. There was no sadness or anger heard.

A smirk played at Kristina's lips and she waltzed out of the room, satisfied at what she had done.

"Glin, you know that none of that is true. I never slept with her, I promise! She never even took her clothes off and neither did I!" Boq informed her, defending himself and their marriage.

"Oh, so you admit that you were with her then. Was she a good kisser, Boq?" Her voice hadn't changed; no emotion was displayed.

Boq didn't respond. He wrung his hands in nervousness –or was it shame? - and looked down at the tiled floor of the hospital room.

"Get out. I don't care if you slept with her or not. If you didn't, go take her now. You have your chance." Glinda growled at him.

"Glin, please…."

"Don't call me that. Get out."

Boq glanced back at her once in regret before closing the door behind him, leaving Glinda alone to deal with her tears and her broken heart.

The munchkin navigated through the hospital, his eyes downcast. What gave Kristina the right to barge in and ruin the only good thing in his life? Yes, he had kissed her. Yes, he had been close to sleeping with her. But he loved Glinda and Kristina was a mistake that he longed to forget.

He was almost to the front doors when two familiar voices caught his attention.

"Fiyero, I told you that I'm fine! There's nothing wrong with me. I probably just have a cold or something."

"Elphaba, you don't throw up when you have a cold. Stop downplaying it. You're sick."

Boq raised his head to see Fiyero with one arm around Elphaba's waist and the other on the counter, signing them in. Elphaba caught sight of him first and waved him over.

"What are you doing here?" She inquired, her eyes slanting in suspicion.

"Glinda. Our carriage exploded and she'd like to see you." Boq's sentence wasn't very comprehensible, but Elphaba understood the gist of what he was trying to say.

"Excuse me, ma'am! What room is Glinda Upland in?" Elphaba leaned over the counter, taping the secretary on the shoulder pointedly.

A few moments passed before the woman turned to face them. "Room 406, Miss." She informed them, sending a sparing glance at Elphaba, staring in awe at the vegetable effect of her skin.

"Fae, you really do need to get checked out. You can see Glinda later." Fiyero tried to pull her away from the door but Elphaba wouldn't have it. She cracked open the door and slithered inside.

"Glin?" She asked into the air, wondering if the woman was asleep or not.

"Elphie, you came?" Glinda turned around hesitantly, secretly pleased when Elphaba didn't flinch or grimace at the sight of her singed skin.

"Of course I did. Now, why did Boq leave and why in Oz were you crying?" The green woman sat next to her friend in bed and gazed at her searchingly.

"Boq's having an affair with some random woman! Some Kristina or something like that." She sobbed, not noticing as Elphaba's face blanched.

"Glinda, there's something I need to tell you."


	4. Chapter 4

**Here is another chapter for my lovely readers! I've been seeing a decrease in reviews. I know that you all are reading it, so why not review? Anyway, enjoy!**

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"Remember two years ago when Boq finally mustered up enough courage to ask you on a date?" Elphaba questioned her, Glinda slowly nodding as she clutched onto the sheets in utter sadness.

"That night, I was walking past the gardens to close the front gates when I heard Boq's voice and the voice of a woman. I clung to the shadows and turned the corner to see Kristina kissing him. I hate to tell you this, Glin, I really do, but he was enthusiastic about it. She tried to unbutton his shirt, but Boq stopped her. He informed her that all of that had been a mistake and that he was very sorry. I was planning on telling you, but you were so in love with him. I didn't want to ruin it for you." Elphaba explained to her, taking the blonde's pale hand comfortingly.

"B-but, she said that he was with her the other night!" Glinda protested, tears falling down her face and irritating her burn wounds.

The green woman shook her head. "You would have noticed if he had left your bed, wouldn't you?" She inquired. "And plus, Kristina just got into town today."

"How do you know that?" Glinda dabbed at her face tenderly with a tissue.

"Your mom was talking about it before she left. I am rather 'in the know'." Elphaba told her, making Glinda giggle.

"I suppose that I shouldn't have kicked him out then." She sighed, biting the inside of her cheek. "She was being such a meanie and I was so angry."

Elphaba rolled her eyes. "Meanie? What are we: two?" She laughed.

There was silence for a few moments until Fiyero spoke up. "We have to get you checked out, Fae; come on."

"Fiyero, Oz, I'm fi-" Elphaba's voice faltered and she swooned. Her vision was blurry although she could vaguely make out Fiyero's figure in front of her and lifting her to her feet. He carried her to the lobby, where a few nurses came running toward him with a gurney in between them.

Fiyero was reluctant to let her go. She appeared to be so small and fragile as she laid there. "Can I just come with her?" He pleaded. No one answered him, but he was forced to stay outside of the room when they wheeled Elphaba in. He stood behind a glass partition and watched as one of the nurses took her pulse and informed the doctor about something that he couldn't hear.

His forehead wrinkled in confusion when the doctor placed his hands on her stomach and began to pump. All of a sudden, Elphaba lurched forward and threw up into the chamber pot that the doctor was holding for her.

Fiyero ran in the door, not wanting her to be in such distress. Well, at least not without him there to help her. "Fae, honey, are you alright?"

"Do I _look _like I'm alright?" Elphaba snapped at him. He ignored her attitude and sat next to her, rubbing her back comfortingly. The woman arched herself away from him instinctively.

"You're still not used to being touched, are you?" He asked her tenderly, kissing her cheek.

Elphaba slowly shook her head and that was when the doctor intervened.

"Miss Thropp was poisoned, sir. A very strong poison, which it was. She could have died if it stayed in her system any longer.

Fiyero wasn't surprised. Well, he was that someone attempted to kill her, but not that she had been poisoned. He had thought that from the start.

"You can take her home, but," The doctor handed Fiyero a clear glass vial. "Make sure she takes this when you get home. It'll wipe out her system."

And wipe out her system it did. Fiyero had taken a grief-stricken Glinda home as well and she immediately stormed off to apologize to her husband. Meanwhile, Elphaba was leaning over the chamber pot in the washroom, seemingly throwing up her intestines.

Fiyero rushed to her side, kneeling as he held back Elphaba's silken hair. He rubbed her back with his other hand and whispered comforting words into her ear.

"I feel so disgusting." She whispered, leaning against Fiyero's chest in a rare show of weakness. He kissed the top of her hair and wiped at her forehead with a dry towel.

"Are you finished?" He questioned her, picking her up when she nodded.

"Fiyero please put me down!" She pleaded.

"And why should I do such a thing?"

"Because I have two perfectly good legs and I can walk!" Elphaba snapped at him. He was going to come back with a snide remark but he noticed her deathly silence.

"Elphie, if this is about your sister, I'm sorry." Fiyero told her, gently laying her onto his king-size mattress.

Elphaba rolled away from him, her face emotionless as she regarded the wall with a great deal of interest. "It's not your fault, Yero. It's mine." She informed him, biting her lip and not daring to turn to face him.

"It's not your fault that she had polio. It's a disease. If it was anyone's fault, it would be your parents'. It's their genetics." Fiyero explained to her, rubbing comforting circles on her back.

Elphaba turned to face him, a wide grin on her lips.

"What?"

"It seems Prince Brainless has finally found his brain." She teased, moving over to steal a kiss from his lips.

"I didn't find my brain. I found you."


End file.
